BAE announces £200m investment in Scotland after Portsmouth job cuts

Defence giant BAE Systems has unveiled proposals for two of its manufacturing facilities following an announcement of job cuts in Portsmouth last year.

The company has released details of two potential investment options for its Govan and Scotstoun shipyards in Glasgow ahead of public consultations which are due to be held next week.

BAE Systems announced in November that 1,775 workers will lose their jobs, with 835 redundancies in Glasgow, Rosyth, Fife, and Filton, near Bristol, and the remaining 940 in Portsmouth.

One of the options for Glasgow is a £200m single site strategy which involves building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Scotstoun.

The second option, a £100m two-site strategy, involves expanding and improving existing facilities at Govan and Scotstoun.

Charlie Blakemore, business and transformation director at BAE Systems Maritime - Naval Ships, said: ‘Our vision is to create 21st century complex warship capability that will deliver value for money for our customers and attract and retain the very best talent, helping to secure the long-term future of this highly-skilled industry in the UK.

‘The proposed facilities are a key part of this and will offer significant benefits including modern, safer working environments, increased efficiency and competitiveness and generating a step change in capability. We are working with local authorities and the Ministry of Defence to progress the investment proposals and are committed to building a future legacy for our business that we will all be proud of.’

Under the first option, construction work at Scotstoun would include building a new 330m covered modern dock hall, steelwork preparation facility, steelwork fabrication facility, paint cell, supporting offices and employee welfare facilities and a quay, which would enable ship blocks and equipment to be transported by sea.

Construction under this option would be expected to begin in January 2015 and continue until 2017.

If this option were chosen there would be discussions with Clydeport and stakeholders about options for the future of the Govan yard.

Shipbuilding operations would continue there until 2018 through the aircraft carrier programme and construction of three offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Navy.

Under the second option, construction work at Govan would include extensions to the existing fabrication and main ship-build halls. A new paint cell and outfit hall would also be constructed and the existing berth would be levelled to create a new transfer quay.

Construction work at Scotstoun would include upgrades to the dry docks and strengthening of the deep water berth to support mobile cranes.

If this option were selected, construction would be expected to begin at Govan from February 2015 until 2017, whilst work at Scotstoun would take place from 2017 to 2018.

Both options will be reviewed throughout 2014 with a decision expected by the end of this year.